Don't Go To Turkey During Ramadan

Day 11, 12 & 13: Istanbul

2008-09-28T18:56:00.013+03:00

Funky wool hats
Outside the Hippodrome
Turkish coffee, Turkish Delights
Grand Bazaar
Grand Bazaar
Grand Bazaar

Mosaic in Haig Sophia
Topkapi Palace
Tokapi Palace
Topkapi Palace
The Blue Mosque
No shoes in the mosque!
Mosaic in Haig Sophia

Haig Sophia corridor
Sirkeci Station
Spice Market

Obelisk of Theodosius
Prayer Carpet
The Blue Mosque at night
Making Turkish coffee, old school
Spice Market
Calligrapher at Ramadan Night Fair
Grand Bazaar outdoor alleys.

After our 11 hour bus ride, we were ready to find a hotel and refresh. We made our way to the Sultanahmet, (the Blue Mosque) area of town filled with boutique hotels, guesthouses, dorms, restaurants and cafes galore, and every other store sells Turkish rugs, ceramics, and souvenirs. It's also the place to stay for Istanbul's best touring as the Blue Mosque- Istanbul's biggest mosque, the Hagia Sophia- a Byzantine era church turned mosque, and the Topkapi Palace are all within walking distance. You can also walk to the Hippodrome (see the Serpent Column, Obelisk of Theodosius, and Walled Obelisk), Grand Bazzar, the Roman aqueducts, the Serkeci Railroad Terminal-- all which we did in our 3 days in Istanbul!

It was still early morning, about 8, and the streets were quite empty except for a few backpackers like ourselves looking for a place to stay. We went into about a dozen different hotels, some were far too expensive and some were far too smelly, but one seemed just right- the Bonjour Hotel. Unfortunately they were already booked for the next three days, but the manager walked us over to another hotel around the corner- a friend of his, the Sultan's Eye. It was cute, clean, and within the budget we were willing to pay for a bit of R&R and pampering for the end of our stay in Turkey. (91YTL including breakfast, per night)

IB suggested we first hit the hamam. My only reservation was that we wouldn't be able to go in together (men and women have separate rooms). We asked the hotel manager and he told us about the best hamam in Istanbul that allows co-hamaming! He set our appointment and 30 minutes later we were whisked away by a private car, straight to the hamam. This hamam was built right next to the Suleymaniye Mosque and has been in business for 458 years continuously! We bathed in the same room where Suleyman the Magnificent bathed! We were pampered, bubbled, massaged, and scrubbed for 45 beautiful minutes. It felt like what a real hamam experience should, and was well worth the 60YTL. A++, highly recommended. a

Feeling like newborn babies, we started our day. Our first destination was the Suleymaniya Mosque (just around the corner from the hamam). This mosque was undergoing restorations to the minarets; actually all of the major mosques and sites we visited were undergoing restorations/renovations- it was quite interesting. (In our photos you'll see all the scaffolding).

Before going into any mosque, one has to remove your shoes and for women, cover your head and shoulders. This mosque was completed in 1557, is the second largest mosque in Turkey and was built on the orders of Suleyman the Magnificent- he's even buried in the back. This was very exciting for IB, as he's a personal hero of his.

Next on our schedule was the Grand Bazaar. A HUGE covered shopping area with more than 6,0000 shops ranging from the gold section, to leather, to carpets, ceramics, clothing, antiques, and more. It was packed with people (many tourists) rushing from here to there. The shop owners and employees badger you to check out their goods, they'll insist they have what you're looking for even if they don't know what it is- it's such fun! The whole experience is a sensory overload- so many things to look at, smells, textures. It was very 'Middle East'.

I spotted a bag and went to negotiate, I wanted to see some other ones like it, and out of nowhere another employee lead us to the upstairs, behind-the-scenes, factory room where they make the bags right there! It was small room crowed with finished bags and fabrics galore, and 3 guys- the fabric cutter, the sewer in the back room, and the owner. I felt like I hit the jackpot! So after some smooth talking about how I owned a clothing store and was looking to perhaps to some wholesale, I walked out with a handful of bags and a ridiculously cheap price. Of course, I wore my bag right away and over the 3 days in Istanbul I was stopped about 5 times by shop owners asking how much I paid for my bag. I guess it's a new style that's up and coming and they wanted to know the going rate, but since I got a special deal, I'm pretty sure I set the whole market down on these bags! Hahaha, you're welcome fellow funky-bag shoppers! :)

We were pretty exhausted by the end of the Grand Bazaar. We stopped at a pastry shop just outside and munched on baklava and sipped Turkish coffee, no wait, I mean Israeli coffee! We headed back to our hotel for a rest before dinner. Neither of us can remember what we did for dinner, but it definitely wasn't as good as dinner the second the night; a romantic dinner of wine and seafood with live eastern-style music in the background.

Our second day we visited Topkapi Palace (15YTL each), the residence of all the Sultan's of the Ottoman Empire from 1465-1853. Today it's a 'Historical Area of Istanbul' and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It grounds were gorgeous and the palace is beautifully preserved- check out the pics! We wanted to visit the Harem, and for another 10YTL each we entered. I'm not quite sure why it's another fee to enter, I think it should just be included in the price of the ticket itself. The Harem housed the Queen Mother (the Sultan's mom), the Sultan's many, many wives, children, and other family members. Many of the rooms were inaccessible, but the rooms we did see were pretty awesome! After the Harem, we made our way to the main attraction, the jewels! The fifth largest diamond in the world is here, along with countless other crowns, gems, Ottoman weapons, rings, coffee cup sets, water pipes, necklaces, original garments, and every other ornate object you could think of. One room is completely dedicated to all the foreign treasures that were gathered from conquests or given to the Ottoman Empire- objects from China, Egypt, all across Europe, India, etc... Unfortunately photography is strictly prohibited, so you'll just have to imagine!

The next room over starts all of the sacred religious artifacts; old Koran manuscripts from different areas and centuries and the cloak and sword of Prophet Mohammed. This room was packed with religious Muslims trying to catch a glimpse of some of their most scared objects. We were making our way around the room and all of sudden, right in front of us displayed in a glass case with dim lightning was Moses Staff. ?!?!?!? "Umm, is this for real", we both thought. The display next to Moses Staff was of course, King David's Turban- perfectly preserved and bleach-white. Things got a bit twilight at this point. This is a respected museum, how could they in all good consciousness seriously display this? This room then lead into the final room, which was just two large television screens, one in Arabic and one in English scrolling passages of the Koran. Throughout the rooms, we heard faint audio playing, but couldn't quite make it out, but then we figured out it was the audio to the passages--- it felt a bit preachy to say the least.

With Moses Staff still on my mind, we left and headed to the Haig Sophia- the church turned mosque. The ticket was another 20YTL and I really didn't feel like paying for this, so IB went in and I stayed outside and made small talk with some locals. In IB's words: it was very beautiful, very interesting, and the mosaics on the 2nd floor, which is a bit hidden, was a way to justify the cost of the ticket. It's a pity that everything seems to be under renovations. The scaffolding on the dome apparently changes its' positioning every 3 years as a compromise between UNESCO and the Istanbul authorities for preserving the crumbling masterpiece. An interesting anecdote was to see Mary and Baby Jesus between the words "Allah" and "Mohammed"- religions of the world unite! Don't forget to check out the mosaic on the exit on the way out.

Next destination: the Blue Mosque (Sultanahmet Mosque), built between 1609 and 1616. It was packed with tourists and worshippers alike. Almost all of the 20,000 handmade tiles are inscribed with caliphs names, verses of the Koran, or traditional designs of flowers, fruits, and trees. The sheer size of the structure was what made it impressive, but the content was just about the same as all the other mosques we visited.

Later in the day we visited the hippodrome. It's basically a big circle that used to host horse and chariot races, but now has vendor shops. In the hippodrome stands 3 columns- the Serpent Column which was brought to Constantinople in 324 from Ancient Greece but now just looks like a rusty, broken screw, the Obelisk of Theodosius which was brought from Ancient Egypt and is in such pristine condition that it looks like it was carved yesterday. I couldn't believe it was from circa 1425 B.C.! It was truly impressive and one of my favorite sights in Istanbul! The third column, at the opposite end of the Hippodrome is the Walled Obelisk. It used to be covered in bronze plaques but has since been pillaged. Currently it looks like a tall, skinny pile of bricks.

Our third day and last full day in Istanbul brought us first to the Serkeci Railway Terminal. This is a hugely important train station as it connects the East to the West, Asia to Europe. The iconic Orient Express stopped and started here. The station itself is very classic, it looks straight out of an old black-and-white movie. Stained glass windows, sleek curved tracks, a large clock affixed to the wall, and perfectly parallel support poles add to the 'European Orientalism' architecture. The terminal is situated right on the water, so we went up a bridge to see the view of Istanbul- where the two continents meet!

We made our way to the Spice Bazzar, which was very beautiful but very overpriced. Afterwards we took a walk down into the back street bazaar, where the locals shop. There was shop after shop of men's clothing, scarf shops, baby's clothing, fabric, and house ware. It was so strange because they seemed to all be selling the same thing-how do they stay in business? We kept walking and walking and soon realized we were somewhat lost. So about 9km (5.5 miles) later we finally made it back to our hotel!

In the evening, we went exploring around the Hippodrome, which has magically changed into a huge festival. Vendors selling plastic fruit, nuts, handmade candy, baklava, and even real Turkish coffee! There were even make-shift cafes set up under tents serving small snacks and hookahs. We asked a vendor what it was all about and he told us that this happens every night during Ramadan, some nights they stay open till 4am. It was a really fun-filled, family atmosphere, the first of this we had experienced. People seemed happy and relaxed- I was happy I got to see this side of Istanbul. The Blue Mosque was in the background and we wanted to get a good picture, so we walked through the gates, walking right past three security guards talking on their cell phones. We took a few pictures and started walking to the other exit but it was closed. Come to think of it, we were the only people around! We accidently snuck onto the grounds! But the door we came through in the first place was wide open. We held hands and kissed- hahahaha, we thought it was very funny; two Jews holding hands and kissing on a full moon, on the 15th day of Ramadan, being the last two people in the Blue Mosque. We walked back the entrance we came in from and all the guards at once looked up at us, then at each other with the most peculiar face- "How did these foreigners get in here?" We played it cool and said "Goodnight" and let ourselves out. It was hilarious!

The next morning IB went down to pay for the room and the owner said he only accepted cash. This was the final straw for me- I got so pissed because the last thing I wanted to do was take out anymore money, and secondly- what hotel doesn't accept credit cards, especially in a major city! We rushed over to the nearest ATM (about a 15 minute walk round trip) and begrudgingly took out some more money. We paid the hotel, but not before I gave the owner a piece of my mind- he should have at least told us, though he insisted he did, and I insisted he post a sign. We hopped in a cab (30YTL) and flew back to Israel.

Recap:

Sultan's Eye Hotel: 273YTL

2 for Hamam: 120YTL

2 tickets to Topkapi Palace: 30YTL

2 tickets to Harem in Palace: 20YTL

1 ticket to Haig Sophia: 20YTL

Cab to Airport: 30YTL

Day 9 & 10: Cappadocia

2008-09-25T14:43:00.017+03:00

After some zzz's in our cave we got up the next morning, ate breakfast (Turkish, of course) and headed to the Open Air Museum, about a miles walk from Goreme. (P.S. We also had the Dream Cave do our laundry-15YTL). The hotel owner told us about a few great valleys to check out alternatively on the way to the museum. We started down the Zemi Valley path and about 10 minutes in we found a ladder leading up into one of the cave houses. We climbed up and explored around- climbing through holes and crawling through low-narrow passage ways. It was super cool! Afterwards, we headed back on track to the Open Air Museum, bought our tickets, 15YTL each, and began our wandering. There's numerous churches inside the caves painted with frescos (some fully restored and looking fabulous!), dining rooms, graves, churches, and more churches.

The 'Dark Church', which until the 1950s was used as a pigeon house, depicts scenes from the New Testament and are some of the best preserved frescos in Cappadocia because only a small amount of light enters the cave, so the pigments survived! There is an additional fee to enter the Dark Church (8YTL); I wasn't really that interested in seeing it for another 8YTL, but IB, who loves frescos and is a bit of a history buff, paid and entered. I sat outside and did a small photo shoot of all the cool structures around me. The guard who collects the fee saw me sitting there, no one else was around, he asked me where I was from, "America", I said, and then with a smile he nodded his head towards the entrance- so I got in for free :)

A few more hours of climbing around and lots of photos later we finished up and headed back to our Dream Cave. We consulted our Lonely Planet which directed us to The Ottoman House for dinner. But before dinner we took another walk around the back streets of Goreme; we could smell the Ramadan meals being cooked and saw families sitting outside talking and enjoying the evening. Turning the corner on to the main street we were greeted by a little old Turkish lady, she said insistingly "Turkish house! Come! Come! Turkish house!", so we followed her into her house. She led us to her living room, filled with traditional Turkish hats and hand-made scarves. We were served a delicious cup of apple tea, she showed me some head-scarves and insisted I try them on, and in the end purchased a Turkish hat for 10YTL. We said our goodbyes and thank-yous and headed to the Ottoman House. We sat down, on the balcony underneath the stars and I went to set my purse down and realized I didn't have it. Panic immediately set in, as my passport and credit card were in there- I realized I must have left it at Turkish lady's house; so we double-timed it over there! Thankfully she had it and my heart rate went back to normal. Once back at our dinner table, we were served a great meal- soup, a curry chicken salad appetizer, a meat and vegetable-stew like main course, and a delicious peach and cream thing for dessert. (49YTL). After dinner, we strolled back to our cave room for some sleep...

With no real plans for the day we asked the hotel owner about other sites in the area. He suggested to hop on the bus (1.75YTL each) to the next town (Ushisar), up the hill and visit Ushisar Castle, then walk back down through Pigeon Valley. The castle is actually the highest point in all of Cappadocia and for 3YTL each, we headed up for the view and photo op. It was beautiful- with all of Cappadocia's mystical pillars, fairy chimney's, and desert colors surrounding us. Afterwards we started our walk/hike back through Pigeon Valley with cool views, little vegetable gardens, horses, and apple trees galore- it was off to a great start. But at some point we realized we were heading up the hill, not down into the valley. We started looking for a way back down- going on this trail here and there but with no luck. IB finally found one that looked promising (to him that is), I had serious reservations. He insisted, "Come on, it's totally do-able!", but it was so steep I had to get down on my butt and scoot to check it out, then panic set in- I froze, freaked out and almost started crying. I knew I couldn't do it and my instincts were telling me so. I scooted on my butt back to the top and tried to calm myself down. After this traumatizing ordeal, we found a safer route and headed back to Goreme.

Back in Goreme we booked our next bus ride- to Istanbul! The ride is 11 hours and we thought it best to take the night bus (90YTL), and we had until 8pm till departure. We packed our belongings and checked out of the Dream Cave (sigh) and found a cute restaurant for our last supper in Cappadocia- traditional kebabs with all the fixings (25YTL).

Needless to say, the 11-hour bus ride was pretty crappy- even though it was a big huge bus, any seat after 11 hours gets pretty uncomfortable and the air conditioning wasn't turned on for half the ride, uughhh! We were so happy to have finally arrived in Istanbul- aka Constantinople.

Recap:

2 nights at Dream Cave Guesthouse: 80YTL

Laundry services at Dream Cave: 15YTL

2 tickets to Goreme Open Air Museum: 30YTL

Entrance to Dark Church: 8YTL

Turkish Hat: 10YTL

Ottoman House Dinner: 49YTL

Bus tickets to Ushisar: 3YTL

2 tickets to Ushisar Castle: 6YTL

Last supper in Goreme: 25YTL

2 bus tickets to Istanbul: 90YTL

Day 7 & 8: Sivas to Cappadocia

2008-09-22T22:56:00.019+03:00

   Yay! Our oasis, Sahara Pizza, Sivas.
   Main Street, Sivas.
   Dream Cave Hotel, Goreme.
   Welcome to Cappadocia!
   Goreme at night

The bus ride to Seabass (Sivas) was long, hot, and we had to listen to Turkish radio shows the whole time and unfortunately, smoking is permitted by the bus driver. Oi vey! Once we arrived at the bus station in Seabass we hopped on the public bus to take us into the center of town (6YTL).

Up until this point we were pretty much in the 'back country' of Turkey, but Seabass is much more modern with beautiful lighted sidewalks, contemporary clothing stores, and all different kinds of shops. We consulted our Lonely Planet once again for a place to stay, and after a few attempts at negotiating a fair price, we settled on a small otel on the older side of town (we forgot the name of this otel). By the time we laid our bags down and relaxed a bit, it was past evening and we were ready to eat. During the bus ride earlier in the day, I had dreams about pizza- oh how delicious a slice of Long Island pizza would be! I knew we wouldn't find anything that comes even close, but I thought, maybe just maybe there's a pizza place in Seabass. We began our walk and about 5 blocks later we had just about given up hope- then we lift our heads and literally right in front of us stood "Sahara Pizza"- we couldn't believe it! We walked upstairs to find the place completely empty except for the staff that looked quite bewildered to see us. We managed to order pizza with chicken and onions to our waitress who was so nervous speaking broken English with us. We took the two small pizzas (only 12YTL!) to go and headed back to our otel for a night in. The box smelled delicious and we couldn't wait to see what a pizza in Turkey looked and tasted like. We were amazed! It was great and even came with a bunch of extra toppings (something must have gotten lost in translation) like mushrooms, olives, and peppers! YUM! YUM! YUM! It was the best meal we had eaten so far! Sahara Pizza was our oasis!

The otel was 30YTL, without anything included- even hot water, which of course we didn't realize until the next morning when we went to shower. We complained to the reception and they said that hot water wasn't available until after 11a. We checked out and went for the only sightseeing in Seabass, an old mosque in the town center, but it was undergoing restorations.

So we made our way to the bus station and wanted to leave Seabass ASAP. But the next direct bus to Cappadocia wasn't for 3 more hours. So we sat and waited. We tried to make Turkish coffee with coffee we bought at the supermarket, but it was undrinkable! (You just can't get Turkish coffee in Turkey- it's crazy!)

At this point, I was feeling pretty agitated by the price of everything on the trip so far. We felt that we weren't getting any value for what we were spending, and if we kept it up for the entire trip I'd have holes burned into my pockets. So we made the decision to call the airlines and have our flight changed to leave a week earlier (this change cost $100 USD). It was unfortunate we had to cut a whole week out, but we needed to cut our losses.

Another 6 hour bus ride and we arrived in Goreme, the 'tourist' city in the Cappadocia region. A word about the bus rides: In the 'back country' the buses were small, un-airconditioned, and very uncomfortable. But the buses once we got to Sivas were huge tour-style buses, mostly Mercedes with plenty of leg space and A/C (although the bus drivers only turn on the A/C in spurts, so it got pretty hot and stale at some points- maybe it's to save on gas or they are just trying to make the ride more miserable? It's yet to be determined). But on all buses in Turkey the driver is treated like an airline pilot and there are even 'bus attendants', usually one or two who are responsible for baggage, tickets, bus maintenance, and 'in-route' service. After every stop the bus makes the attendants walk up and down the isle spraying something that masks the smell of the other smells, then they come around with a bottle full of lemon scented water, you hold out your hands and get a squirt, it's customary and the Turkish men rub it all over their heads and hair- it's like a mini bath! The attendants also serve water, tea, and snacks, but since it was Ramadan we missed out on this little extra perk :(

Entering the Cappadocia region was like going back in time to the Stone Age. The region was created millions of years ago by three massive volcanos. The eruptions caused tons of volcanic ash to cover the land, harden and dry. The ash also covered already existing rocks and over time weather conditions chipped and shaped out pillar like structures. The rocks that were covered remained on top of the 'fairy chimneys' giving the region its unique forms. This type of stone is very soft, which allowed people to carve out homes and underground cities. Cappadocia is a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its' geographical, historical, and cultural history. The Open Air Museum is a complex comprising of more than "30 rock-carved churches and chapels containing some superb frescoes, dating from the 9th to the 11th centuries." (Wikipedia).

The coolest sleeping arrangements in Goreme is to sleep in a cave! We found a great guesthouse, the Dream Cave Hotel and for 40YTL per night (breakfast included) we slept in a beautifully arched ceiling room that was carved out from the cave itself! The owner originally wanted 50YTL, but I used my American negotiating skills to get him down ten lira. The Dream Cave Hotel was by far the nicest and most 'homely' place we stayed on our trip.

Goreme's geared for tourism with plenty of cafes, restaurants, cute shops, and even a few bars. We walked around until we found a place for dinner, a lively outdoor restaurant where we dined on manti (meat-filled Turkish ravioli served with yogurt sauce) and kebabs. It was such a relief from the Ramadan meat-and-potato meals we were having all along. After dinner we headed back to our cave for some zzzz's...

Recap:

Flight change: 100USD

Seabass bus station to town center: 6YTL

Seabass Otel: 30YTL

Pizza!: 12YTL

2 tickets from Seabass to Cappadocia: 50YTL

Day 4, 5, & 6: Yusufeli & Barhal

2008-09-18T12:19:00.023+03:00

   10th Century Georgian Church
   Indiana Jones-ing
   In Barhal, napping until Ramadan dinner...
      Smashing walnuts!
   Yusufeli
   Room with a 'view'- Yusufeli
   Marsis Pension, Barhal
   Yusufeli Tourist Information Center (notice disconnected hand :)

During our stroll in Barhal

The bus ride from Pazar to Yusufeli was about 4 hours (could have been longer, we took so many bus rides they are getting mixed up to us!) But it didn't reach Yusufeli at all, though we were told it would. The bus ended up dropping us off at a middle-of-nowhere gas station; this was the first time we got acquainted with the practice of stopping at 7:30p for 'iftar'- the breaking of the Ramazan fast. So we waited.

During this time, an older man and his Wrangler Jeep were stuck at the gas station, he kept trying to get it started with no luck. He finally popped the hood to have a look, but you could tell he had no idea what he was looking at. IB, a quite good amateur mechanic, started walking over to watch, but as soon as the guy saw him, quickly closed the hood and tried to start the engine again. It seemed obviously the jeep wasn't going anywhere fast; but then the owner of the jeep called a few friends from around the gas station to help push and they got the jeep far down the road until it faded into the darkness. To our surprise, 5 minutes later we hear the jeep put-putting down the road and it zips past us- the funny thing about this whole story was that the next day leaving Yusufeli we saw the jeep abandoned on the side of the road.

Once everyone had finished eating, we were told that only a dolmus can take us into Yusufeli, 15YTL for only 9 kilometers- it felt like the biggest rip off, and again there was no negotiating on the price. We consulted our Lonely Planet book (though a bit outdated, 2002) for a good place to stay and made our way to the Barhal Guesthouse. Up until this point, IB was doing all the negotiating for rooms, so I decided to try my hand. The owner first asked where we were from, IB said "Israel" and the owner seemed unfazed (they are pretty much sick of so many Israelis coming, hahaha) and then asked me, "America", I said, and his whole face lit up with excitement. Seeing this would be an opportune time to talk about the price, I asked if we could get the room for ten lira cheaper, and without hesitation the owner said, "Yes, okay! 30, okay, you are an American!" So for 30YTL we got a bare minimum room, private bathroom and shower, and a pretty nice view of the river that runs through the town.

Unfortunately, the 30YTL didn't come with breakfast. The next morning the owner

recommended a place for breakfast just around the corner, we were the only people in the place (again) and ordered the only thing on the menu- a Turkish breakfast and two Turkish coffees. The waitress couldn't have been older than 16 and was completely perplexed on how to make Turkish coffee so IB went into the kitchen and made it for us!

At this point we realized you cannot get Turkish coffee in Turkey. It was quite a realization- this was one of the main reasons we decided to come on the trip! :) So in light of this, we would like to take this opportunity to formally petition a name change of Turkish coffee to Israeli coffee- because Israeli's know how to make a mean cup of Turkish coffee- who's with us!?

Anyway, the breakfast was a rip-off at 15YTL and we were only served cucumbers, tomato, Bulgarian cheese, 20 black olives, and bread (no egg, no honey, no jam even!) We decided Yusufeli didn't have much more to offer, so we waited for the next dolmus to Barhal (20YTL).

Barhal is another common village to stay for people trekking the Kachkar. It's much less developed than Ayder with only pensions guesthouses. A pension is traditionally someone's house that you share with the owners; you get a private room but the bathroom is shared and everyone eats together. But nowadays, a pension is usually a private upstairs built on top of the owners house with private rooms, showers, and dining hall; basically an otel on top of a house.

We walked up to the Marsis Pension, which seemed abandoned expect for some clothes drying on the line and hiking boots outside the door (traveler's like us, of course). We explored a bit, looking for the owner, and he finally emerged. IB asked about prices and I was showed a room. He first said the room would be 30YTL, including breakfast and dinner, then he left. Palmah came back to me with the news, and I said I would try to haggle it down but when I went to look for him again, he was gone. So we sat on the stairs for a bit and out emerged the other traveler, an Israeli of course! We talked to him about the price he got, and he said his girlfriend actually handled it! (It seems that the men in Turkey have a soft spot for women who negotiate). I walked around and tried to find the owner again, but only found an old man who seemed happy I found him. He walked me up to the rooms and with mostly hand gestures, managed to tell him we wanted a double bed. I asked, "Kach lira?" (How much?), and right then the girlfriend walked out of her room; the old man grabbed her and motioned for us to speak. I asked how much she got for her room, including breakfast and dinner and it was settled that we would pay the same thing (25YTL per person). So with that the old man patted the girlfriend on the head and gave me a handshake and kiss on the cheek! It was pretty unexpected, the old man was flirting with us!

After dropping off our bags, we walked in search of a little lunch- though we didn't have high hopes and I was already resigned to having bread and cheese again. We found an empty cafe which opened just for us and we had delicious shakshuka (similar to an omelet with lots of tomato and spices). The cook was actually the first guy we talked to at the Marsis, and later we learned that he also runs the convenient store and plays a mean game of Remi.

Barhal was the first place where we felt 'at home', people were friendly, smiling and accommodating and the vibe of the town was slow and relaxed. The sun was shining and the breeze was blowing- it was picturesque. We went for an afternoon walk up the road, not knowing where it would take us. The road was filled with apple trees and we picked from them as we walked and butterflies flew from flower to flower. Ahhhh. After about 30 minutes we found an otel, set high into the hill. We walked up and had a cup of cay on the balcony. Looking out you only see a wall of green!

Next to the otel is an old Georgeian Church dating back from the 10th century. Unfortunately it was locked, but IB found an entrance in the back that we could have easily snuck into if we moved some big rocks out of the way, but instead of doing all that I just peaked my head in. Inside was a bunch of pigeons and signs that the church was turned into a mosque (carpets on the floors); actually, a mosque is built right next to this church. We walked around the front of the church again and noticed the enormous amount of walnuts on the ground. So IB gathered a bunch and I smashed them open with rocks, but they were all still to ripe to eat.

We followed a small path that led into the hills, this way and that, we passed an old cemetery, countless flowers, itchy plants (thought it was poison ivy, but it wasn't), apple, cherry, and walnut trees, and grasses that were thigh-high! We were actually walking along an old aqueduct. We also discovered a whole new village right above us, with what seemed like new houses and lots of construction happening. It was so strange because we thought we were in the middle of nowhere! Then we had to make our way down, slipping and sliding the whole time. (P.S. We weren't planning on going on a long trek, but it turned into one which was fine with me except I was wearing fancy Italian leather sandals, not the off-roading type of footwear that was needed for this muddy adventure!) So after complaining about my sandals getting muddy, IB promised he would clean them off for me back at the pansion :)

We sat around the next morning for a few hours after breakfast, playing Remi and poker and watching the clouds roll over the hills. It even drizzled slightly and the air smelled like delicious rain. The thought of taking another ride for 50YTL up to Neznera for a hike into the Kachkar again seemed too steep for us, so instead we put on our boots and decided to explore the charming area we were in.

We took the dirt road in the opposite direction from the prior days' excursion, and after some time found an old wooden bridge that lead from the dirt road over the river to a small path on the otherside. With slight reservations about the bridges' integrity we crossed, finding ourselves once again surrounded by flowers and forest. We continued along with the river and spotted a huge boulder- the perfect place for snack time (chocolate, nuts, and pretzels).

It seemed we were walking forever on this little path, with no other bridge in site to take us back over to the roadside and the river was too high and too fast to just walk over. At one point we found a newly fallen tree, directly over the river like in an Indian Jones movie. We used it as a photo op, but unfortunately it wouldn't take us to the road. So our journey continued....

The sun was starting to set and the thought of crossing the river on foot looked better and better, we just had to find a place where the water was shallow and calm enough. We took off our boots, I gave my camera to IB (who was carrying our bag), hiked up my jeans as far as the could go, and found us two sticks to help with balance. The water was freezing! IB went first as I watched where he placed his feet, he made it to the other side with no problems. "Like a piece a cake", I thought and started making my way through too. The rocks were very slippery and with each step the water crept closer and closer to my jeans (which were up past my knees!) IB reaches out with his stick and hands it to me for extra balance- I'm almost there, just two more steps- and WHOOPS!- down I go. I was sooooooo close too! Laughing hysterically the whole time, I make my way out, soaked up to my stomach. Meanwhile, IB is capturing all this on his camera- it was classic.

After a much needed hot shower and dinner (same as all the other meals) we decided where our next destination would be- the Cappadocia region, which was very south and very east from where we were. We agreed that it would be best to stop half-way somewhere, as the bus ride straight would have been around 12 hours. So from Barhal we caught a dolmus back to Yusefli (20 YTL) to catch another bus to Erzurum that would then take us to our half-way destination, Sivas, which for a few days I thought it was actually called 'Seabass' (50YTL).

Recap:

Gas station to Yusufeli: 15YTL

Barhal Guesthouse: 30YTL

Breakfast in Yusufeli: 15YTL

Yusufeli to Barhal: 20YTL

Marsis Guesthouse: 100YTL (25 per person, per night)

Barhal to Yusufeli: 20YTL

Erzurum to Sivas: 50YTL

Day 2 & 3: Heading to Ayder & The Kachkar Moutains

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   Children of Yukari Kavrun
   View of Yukari Kavrun
   The Kachkar Clouds chasing us!
   Outside the cafe in Yukari Kavrun
   Something written in Turkish (Cafe in Yukari Kavrun)
   Welcome to the Kachkar!
   Pre-Winter flowers
   We made it! Karadeniz Guru (aka The Lakes)
   Everything is green here- even the rocks!
   Off center right is the peak of the Kachkar
   Ominous clouds creeping in
   The view from our room at the Sis Otel
   The misty mosque in Ayder
   One strong granny!

So off we went, making our way to Ayder (the Kackar- pronounced 'Kachkar' Mountain region), taking a bus right along the coast of the Black Sea for about 2-2 1/2 hours until we arrived in Pazar where we had to change from bus to dolmus (18YTL). Pazar is a more religious city and by the looks I saw getting, I felt slightly uncomfortably. We waited around for a bit until the dolmus was filled with passengers- mostly locals with tons of groceries for the evenings' Ramazan meal. I tried to find a public restroom but something got lost in translation or they didn't want me using it (?). The dolmus driver, seeing my failed attempt told me, "Toilet, one kilometer", and after about 15 mintues we stopped in Camlihemsin, letting off other passengers, gaining some, and having my first experience with an 'eastern-style' toilet- aka a hole in the ground basically or as IB likes to say 'the bullseye'.

The dolmus bounced and swerved up, up, up into the green landscape leaving the paved road far behind. About an hour later we rolled into Ayder, a once small village with only wooden shack houses that now has tourist money coming in, so there are new 'otels' popping up everywhere (still all wooden, like a cute cottage). We had got a few recommendations on places to stay from some of IB's friends that have already traveled here (this area is really popular with Israelis). We hiked up the road, trying to feel out the prices at a few of the otels; if breakfast or dinner is included, is there hot water?, and checking out the rooms themselves. But we were weren't quite satisfied with what we found and right at the moment we ran into a couple (Israelis, of course!) playing the same game we were. We joined forces and after IB's name-dropping of a friend who worked in the area as a tour guide, we settled in at the Sis Otel- which was one of the places his friends recommended to us.

The Sis Otel is one of the newer otels in the area and the first one you see when you enter the village. Small but cozy rooms, equipped with TVs, nice bathrooms, wooden walls and floors, a Turkish floor rug, and with gorgeous views of the lush woods that surround Ayder. With dinner and breakfast included, we paid 40YTL per person and stayed for two nights.

Tourist season in the Kachkar runs from May until end of September, peaking between July and August. We could tell business had already slowed down as there were only one of three parties staying at the otel- us, the Israeli couple, and a group of about a dozen Evangelical Christians from the States, needless to say the conversations over dinner and cay (tea-pronounced 'chai') were quite interesting.

That afternoon we strolled along the road in hopes of finding a cup of Turkish coffee. IB and I are quite fond of Turkish coffee, wait scratch that, we are quite addicted to Turkish coffee and need it like a motor needs oil. We found an upstairs restaurant/gaming hall filled with old men playing cards. We sat on the balcony and sipped our tiny (waaaay too tiny) cups of coffee and peered out into the greenery. The old man sitting next to us motioned something at me, I thought it was a hand motion as to say "where's your head covering?" but I'm not really sure and IB doesn't think it was that either.

In the evening, after dinner (meat and potatoes, rice, beans and eggplant mush) we went on another walk. The clouds by this time had already set in and everything seemed as if you were looking through fogged glasses. It was really beautiful! We stopped by the bakery and lucky for us they were just taking out a fresh batch of special Ramazan bread. They wrapped it for us in newspaper and a plastic bag and before we got back to the otel, half of it was already gone- deeelicious!

Waking up the next morning, we got ourselves packed and ready for our first real adventure-a one-day hike up to Karadeniz Guru, also know as the 'lake area' in the Kachkar Mountains. We passed by the bakery again and picked up another Ramazan bread, some cheese, chocolate, and water for our lunch and hopped on another dolmus (15YTL) to take us to Yukari Kavrun. It's an even smaller and more remote village than Ayder, at the base of the Kachkar. Here is a place where old ladies collect firewood for the stove and knit wool socks with funky patterns, men chop wood and fix up houses, and kids play with baby chicks; tin roofs are weighed down with rocks, and drinking water comes directly from a waterfall. Very simple and very pure.

We began our hike and 2 1/2 hours and 5 or 6 small breaks later we reached our destination. The hike was about a 5.8 on a scale from 1 to 10, mostly because I'm out of shape :) The song that kept coming to my head during the way up was "The hills are alive with the sound of music", I think I even broke out into a song and twirl at one point! The ground was peppered with flowers that bloom when winter is on the way-white, orange, and pink underneath dense patches of moss and soft grass. Everything in this region is so green- rocks are covered with lichens and algae in shades of green, blue, yellow and gray. There's water running everywhere! And during the hike you are parallel to a lovely stream; at one point there's even a wooden spout, coming right out of the earth where we refilled our water bottle and cooled ourselves off. This water is untainted and safe to drink because the only thing above it is the actual source- it was delicious and freezing cold!

The amount of water in this region is staggering and IB just kept saying in awe, "They have so much- too much water here"; in Israel, as you know, water is a huge issue. And later during our travels we learned that the whole country is also facing a water crisis, most seriously in Ankara. The crisis is mainly due to poor maintenance of water supply lines and a HUGE dam building project that is still underway in the region (Ataturk Dam).

Once we reached the top (2750 meters above sea level), we were greeted by the lakes. We sat and had our lunch, enjoyed the breath-taking views, and even got chased by a cloud! We recommend that once you get to the first lake you continue up along the ridge towards the peaks and not go down the path on the left (which leads down to the rest of lakes), especially if you are doing only a one-day hiking trip like we did. In total, there are five lakes that our map showed us.

Side note: the best map you can get is sold with the book "The Kackar" by Kate Clow (March 2008), but it is rather pricey at 13.99 Euro. The second best map you can get, which was actually given to us by IB's tour guide friend before we went, is the map he bought at Yusufeli's Visitor/Tourist Information Center. So it might be a good idea to make a stop in Yusufeli before heading to the Kackar. We ended up buying a few more (2YTL each) on our way out of Yusufeli (we tried getting them before, but it was Sunday and the Center was closed).

The hike back down to Yukari Kavrun took us about an hour and a half, and we were ready to go! We were told earlier in the day by some in-charge-looking guy that the dolmus (another 15YTL) would be taking off back to Ayder around 4p, so we made sure to be there on time. We sat and had a coffee and waited. The in-charge guy came up to us and said that he wanted to go fishing with some friends and he'd be back in just a bit- so we said okay, who are we to argue, this guy has the keys. So we stayed put at the little 'cafe' and waited, ordered another tiny cup of coffee, waited, and waited some more. During this time, the sun had already set behind the mountains, and heavy clouds began to blanket the whole village, the cows even started coming home! So finally after 2 hours of waiting and a few games of shesh-besh (backgammon), the guy and his now rowdy friends come back with A fish (though I never even saw it). We were a bit peeved and very ready to get back to our cozy wooden room.

We (guy and rowdy friends) pile into the dolmush and begin, but before we even leave the village- BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! Guns are firing loudly into the sky- first it was from where we had been having coffee and playing shesh-besh, and then BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! again, this time coming from the front seats. All these rowdy guys started pulling out their hand guns and firing them outside the windows for no apparent reason at all. We covered our ears and waited for this display of testosterone to be over. It was unsettling and uncalled for; is this really how you act in front of the tourists? The ride down (about 50 mintues) was dark and foggy and everyone besides us was chain smoking the whole time (cough cough). At one point they even stopped the dolmush at a small roadside campsite/convenient tent (cause it's not really a store) to have a cup of cay. By the time we got back to Ayder we were pissed and tried to demand a cheaper fare for our troubles- but as we learned there is no negotiating with a dolmus.

The next morning we decided to visit the hamam (14 YTL) and thirty minutes later we left cleaner but a bit disappointed with the facility. I naively thought it was going to be more like a spa, not quite like the ones I'm used to back in Miami, but something similar in vibe, but it was more of a public washroom than anything. And of course men and women are separated. You're better off taking a nice long shower in your otel and saving your money for the greatest hamam in Istanbul (we'll get to that later).

We hopped on another dolmush (18YTL) with our destination being Yusufeli, and like before we had to stop in Pazar to change onto a bus (50YTL).

Recap:

Trabzon to Ayder: 18YTL

Ayder to Yukari Kavron: 15YTL

Yukari Kavron to Ayder: 15YTL

Sis Otel: 160YTL (Tel: 0464 657.20.30/ 657.20.86/ www.sisotel.com)

Hamam: 14YTL

Ayder to Pazar: 18YTL

Pazar to Yusufeli: 50YTL

Day 1: Arrival to Istanbul and Trabzon

2008-09-17T01:04:00.003+03:00

We arrived in Istanbul, Ataturk Airport got our visas (U.S. citizens have to pay $20.00US to enter the country, Israeli's enter for free), and made it just in time to catch our connecting flight to Trabzon. The flight was about an hour and half, which was almost as long as the flight from Tel-Aviv to Istanbul. Turkey is a big, I mean REALLY BIG country. We actually decided to take the domestic flight after hearing the bus ride to Trabzon is about 17 hours!

So we arrived in Trabzon and made our way out of airport to find a dolmus. A dolmus, pronounced 'dulmush' is basically a taxi, but bigger and seats about 12-15 people. They are privately owned and sometimes (especially in larger cities) pimped out with awfully tacky fabrics, neon lights, rims, inside paintings, fringe, and curtains.

We arrived in town after our first dolmus ride and started searching for a place to stay for the evening. We ended up choosing Otel Emperyal for 30YTL, and it was definitely the one of shittiest places we stayed. A bare minimum double size cot (though clean) and a bathroom with toliet, shower, and sink. The shower and sink shared the same drain in the middle of bathroom floor. The sink just had a thin plasitc tube that lead straight to the floor (this was a new design concept for me, but for IB he's already seen such). But we were just happy to have dropped our bags some place and start exploring the town.

One of the first things we noticed about Trabzon was that we were the only tourists around. This was a feeling repeated many times throughout our travels in the East Anatolia region (Trabzon, Pazar, Ayder, Sivas). We walked up and down the main street a few times looking for a place to eat and finally settled on a small restaurant with a few customers having tea and finishing their dinners. Little did we know that the meal we were about to eat was also to be repeated many times throughout out travels. We had stewed meat and potatoes, green beans in a tomato sauce, and bread, lots of bread. For dessert- baklava and tea. (21YTL with tip). We woke up the next morning, packed our bags, and scoured the town for some breakfast. We found a cute diner looking place, completely empty but it advertised 'breakfast!' and so we had our first Turkish breakfast, and yes, little did we know that our breakfast would be repeated many times throughout our travels. A Turkish breakfast consists of cucumber, tomato, yellow cheese, about 30 black olives, hard boiled egg, cherry jelly, honey, and bread- lots of bread (20YTL).

So to recap:
Flights: $450 (USD): Turkish Airlines & Onur Airlines for our domestic flight
Hotel: 30 YTL: Otel Emperyal, Tel: (0462) 326.30.20
Food: 41 YTL

Jewish American Girl, Israeli Boy Travel to Turkey, September 2008

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We are writing this blog to share our 2008 adventure in Turkey with our family and friends (and

whoever else comes across this) and to help better inform people thinking about traveling there. A LOT of information we found on the internet was outdated so we hope you enjoy and find it useful!

We planned on being in Turkey for three weeks (September 3-24, 2008); visiting the Black Sea region, the Kackar Mountains, Cappadocia, Antayla, and Istanbul, but we cut it short by 7 days. We were not expecting the country we researched so much about to be so expensive, and we went during Ramadan (pronounced 'Ramazan' in Turkish) which made us feel like we saw the country running only at 30 percent.